You shorten the story to say:

> I was working with this more experienced engineer who would often give
> me suggestions in ______ way and so I went to my manager who told me
> to ignore these and focus on my work which was good from his
> perspective. Thus, I ignored him and things went well.

The blank is there because you have to figure out what term you want to use there as that would be the gap to resolve. Something to consider is having a specific task, a specific pair of perspectives and then a resolution in the story as the point is more about what do you do when things aren't working well here: Do you freak out? Do you check out? etc. Granted that few people would give an honest answer, the point is to remember to answer the question while giving sufficient background and being overly negative in the process.

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First, I'd ask myself what is the intended result of addressing the criticism: Is it that I need to be heard, to punish the other person, or something else? Given the desired result, there would be different choices that may make sense. I have support groups if I feel the need to vent about someone that picked on me or pushed my buttons really hard for one idea. Secondly, going to management repeatedly asking someone to be nice may well have limitations in a sense. Thus, considering what I want could lead to various plans. Lastly, I remember how I am more than my job. Sometimes someone may have a rough day and it can be good to give them space. Course this is one of the easier ways that disengaged employees are made.